Dark Side of the Moon
by Poet-Of-The-North-Wind
Summary: The heroes of old have faded with the slow unraveling of time, and are legends whispered among the silence of the shadows. However, in a time where shadows are becoming greater, and all the more frequent, the legend of the Battousai is finding new life.


_Blurb: The heroes of old have faded with the slow unraveling of time, and are legends whispered among the silence of the shadows. However, in a time where shadows are becoming greater, and all the more frequent, the legend of the Battousai is finding new life. Amidst the darkness that has engulfed these times, new rumors are beginning to surface…rumors of an unbroken Himura bloodline, and a descendant of the Battousai. Could there really be a heir to Battousai the Man Slayer; the greatest, yet most evil warrior of them all? The answer to this, more and more in the eyes of men is pointing to yes, and the dark curse of the name Himura isn't showing signs of fading._

_Disclaimer: I do not, in any way, own the rights to Rurouni Kenshin, nor claim to be the authentic author of the original works. This story is not an official work of Rurouni Kenshin, but a piece written for my own enjoyment. In no way am I seeking to obtain means of profit from this piece. But then again, I bet most of you all knew that, because otherwise you'd be seeing it on television or in a book, and not on a fan fiction website._

_Author's Note: This is my first true attempt at a fan fic, so I hope it does Rurouni Kenshin some justice. _

_

* * *

_

The moon's gaze cast over the world; whether sinister or gentle, one can only speculate. Nightfall had crept upon me, and had left little warning in doing so. And slowly it seemed, perhaps to my eye's delusions, that the moon was fading into the darkness…being engulfed by the black waters of the night. Drowning within the silent sea, darkness outshined lightness, and all was black. Gently I sighed, and kept moving forward, void of thought, and drifting like a ghost. Drearily my feet slid forward, dragging across the ground as I walked (towards what I did not know). Befallen by a dark breeze, I shivered, a sharp, tingling pain coursing up my spine. Like whiplash, I arched my neck forward, and quickened the pace at which I was walking. My soft eyes soon fell over something I could not quite make out…something hidden just beyond a patch of darkness in the night. As I continued along the path (whether there was truly a path, at this point and time, I did not know, as I could not see my golden sandals upon the ground.) my sight came upon some glowing light that allowed my vision to penetrate what had once been conceived as darkness. There, the black figure amongst the shadows came to be a small house, home to a farmer, I would have guessed (due to it's seclusion), had my vision not fell upon an even more surprising sight. As I went on forward, I nearly stumbled face first over the top of a hill. Peering from above this peak, I was able to see a collage of lights hanging from houses, all of them similar to this one.

I had not been expecting to come upon a village for several more days. It was then to my delight, that I had stumbled upon this one. I could not help but to wonder if that meant I was lost…but tracing back to my thoughts, I began to speculate how I could be lost, when I had no specific place that I was going to. Pressing on at this sight, my footsteps fell over the silence of the town as I made my way down the hill. Gradually, as more clarity grew with my sight, I began to press harder, increasing my forward momentum, and eventually to the point, that I stumbled forward and began tumbling down the hill. Luckily I had been toward the bottom-half of it by this time, and it wasn't all that steep of a hill. Slowly rising back towards my feet, I could not help but think that this was symbolic to my life as it had so far been.

It was then to my notice, as I brushed the dirt from the Fuchsia robe that gently caressed my body, that some people from this village were making their way over to me. It was at this that I turned to face them fully, and tried my best to present myself as best as I could.

"Are you alright?" came a voice from the darkness. It was soft, and the words were annunciated with a fluid manner. I guessed that it was a female that had come to my aid.

I nodded slightly. "Just a bit anxious in seeing a village like this one. I had not been expecting to make my way across any settlement for quite some time. Either I'm several days ahead of schedule or my sources were not aware of this colony," I retorted, rubbing my head ever so slightly in indication of where I had hit my head. I could only make out silhouettes in the darkness, but it looked like two women and a man had approached me.

"We ought to get you inside and cleaned up. That looked like a nasty fall," said the female again. Gently she reached over to my arm and grabbed it.

"If you insist," I nodded in respect. Hopefully I would find a place to sleep here tonight, so that I might get a rest from my journey. With this in mind, I wasn't about to argue with her.

With slow, unhurried steps, we made our way back to a small hut-like home, looking to be made of wood, with the roof woven of straw. Soon, with her lead, we made our way inside. For the first time, with the light that hung along the outside of the door as my witness, I was able to see the woman who had escorted me here (I also noticed that the other two silhouettes that I had made out before, had not accompanied me this far). Her eyes were golden hued, a tint of honey brown, if you would. Her skin was fair and delicate, and she wore a blue blouse, almost navy in color.

Soon the woman had fetched a wet cloth, and gently pressed it up against the back of my head with delicacy. A faint gasp came from within me, and soon I fell ill to the drowsiness that lingered.


End file.
